Unlooked For
by runlikeyoustolesomething
Summary: When all is hopeless and someone risks everything to help, are you willing to return the favor? Sent on a recon mission, will Chopper and his squad survive and succeed where others failed?
1. First Time

Pain. That was all the clone trooper could feel as he lay in the dirt and decaying leaves. Around him lay his fallen brothers, their white armor stood out in the darkness. As far as he could tell he was the only one to have survived the blast from the rockets that had come from the side. His left leg was trapped under a massive tree branch that had fallen when the second rocket hit. One side of his helmet had also been crushed. It was painful as the shards of the shattered helmet dug into already open wounds on his head and face.

Farther way he could hear the sounds of blaster fire as the clones and droids fought it out for control of the planet. With a busted comm. he was unable to contact anyone for help. He was to be forgotten, counted as one of the casualties.

Closing his eyes, he thought about what it would be like to die and just wished that it didn't have to happen the first time he was out in battle. He remembered how anxious he and the other "shinies" to prove themselves. Now… now his throbbing side and the sharp pains clouded his thinking. He groaned weakly.

The humid jungle seemed to be getting darker to him, though he wasn't sure if that was possible.

A sharp crack and a faint hiss caused him to raise his head slightly. But even this small movement made his head swim.

"Wh-Who's there?" he managed to croak out. Fumbling for his blaster his mind raced with the stories that he had heard his brothers telling at the mess tables of the man-eating beasts that made a home in those very woods. If he was going down, he would at least try and fight.

Squinting, he could barely make out three black shapes moving from body to body. He raised his pistol and fired off a reckless shot. The effort nearly blacked him out.

Before he knew what was going on, the three shapes converged on him. Panic set in as he felt his helmet being lifted off. He definitely wasn't ready to go yet. Blindly he swung his fist and came in contact with something that felt like a jaw bone. The same hiss as before came from the blackness as his head was sharply dropped.

A foot came down on his chest, causing him to cry out. From somewhere beyond this fresh wave of pain, a conversation between the three drifted through. It sounded like two males and a female but he couldn't understand, and didn't care, what they were saying. He just hoped that if they were going to kill him, it would be quick.

Apparently the conversation had ended because the pressure on his chest had lifted and now another attempt was being made at removing the remains of his helmet. This took some time, as the dark shape was trying to as gentle as possible. Something cool, a liquid, was put to his lips. Unsure of what it was he turned his head the slight bit that he could.

A few quick words were exchanged between what he had now determined to be humanoids at least and the stuff was taken away. Before the young trooper could realize it, the branch was being lifted from his leg while a young female voice spoke soothing words in an unfamiliar language. With the branch taken off his leg, more pain shot through his body. A curse slipped out of him. Now he just wished that they would put him out of his misery.

"Hang in there clone. You're going to make it."The same female voice told him in a common language as he was carefully placed in a makeshift stretcher. "What's your name?"

"Chopper." was the last thing that he mumbled before his body couldn't take the pain anymore and let him slip into unconsciousness.


	2. New Armor?

"Listen up men." Chis, who had been reassigned to Slick's former position as Sergeant after the traitor had been jailed for betraying the Republic, called for attention as he walked in to the room. Five clones looked up from what they were doing. "We have a new assignment. Report to the armory for your new armor then meet in briefing room D-3 in half an hour."

Jester set down his gun that he had been cleaning again. "Sir, why do we need new armor?" He looked down at his heavily battle scarred armor. Those networks of scratches and chips were what separated the veterans from the "shinnies" at first glance.

"Yeah. Besides I haven't heard about anything new coming out." Gus added.

"I was only told by Captain Rex when I was leaving the mess hall to tell my men to report for armor and that General Skywalker has an assignment for us." The Sergeant snatched his helmet off his bunk. "Don't forget. New armor, half an hour, D-3. I have to finish a report then I will meet you there." The door closed behind him.

Jester, Gus, Chopper, Punch, and Sketch all moved to finish what they were doing. Gus slammed Sketch's hand on the table. Earning him his third win needed for the best three out of five arm wrestling match.

"Yes!"

"You can't do that! We were in a time out!"

"Nobody declared a time out, Chis was just telling us something and you got distracted."

"Rematch!"

"Fine by me. You know I'm just gonna win again."

"After briefing." Punch cut off further argument when he hit Gus upside the head with a pillow. He pulled his own generic white helmet off the wall, where it hung above his gun, and put it on. "Not two days after we win Christophsis and they're sending us off on a mission." He muttered. "Don't we feel special."

Three of them followed suit. "Hey Chop, you coming?" Sketch said as he offered a hand to help his brother up. Chopper only continued to lie on his bunk and stare, focusing on nothing beyond the barracks ceiling. Thinking.

Three months earlier, during Rex and Cody's surprise interrogation of the squad, they had found out about his trophy necklace. Jester had still treated him like he was the same as the rest of them. He still talked to him as much as he used to before Slick's betrayal. They had an understanding between them. He figured Jester's easier acceptance of his contraband than the others was due to his own habit of continuously cleaning his gun after a mission till it was beyond a high polish. Both "addictions" helped them to cope with constant war.

It had taken Punch and Sketch nearly a month before they stopped walking on egg shells around him. Sketch had explained that they, or he at least, had been worried about their squad mate but couldn't quite figure how they could help.

And Gus. Deep down Chopper still harbored a grudge against him for when he had said "I always knew there was something deficient about you." Gus didn't seem to be in any hurry to make an effort at apology. And Chopper wasn't in any hurry to let it go. The scarred clone had been taken aside and told by Sergeant Chis to" Suck up whatever" he had "against Gus or work it out. War is no place for those who act like children." This came after Chopper had been less than helpful towards covering Gus' retreat during a firefight.

"Chopper. Kamino to Chopper. Come in." Now Sketch was talking loudly, waving his hand in front of Chopper's face. The trick worked.

After Chopper came back to reality he swatted the annoying hand out of his face before rolling off the other side of his bunk. Hitting the floor in a crouch, he felt around under the bed for his helmet, which had been kicked there during some good natured rough housing earlier.

Chopper followed Sketch towards the door. "Well, let's see this new armor."

"You were the one spaced out." The two of them walked out of the barracks, quickly catching with the rest of the squad.

Twenty minutes later Jester, Gus, Chopper, Punch, and Sketch were trying their best to ignore the double-takes from the other 501st soldiers. "By 'new armor' I was hoping for upgrades, not a change of color." Gus said. From helmet to boots the entire armor was a dull black. They had also been issued packs of the same color.

Sergeant Chis met them at the briefing room door. "Good, you picked up your new armor."

"Yes, sir" Punch entered the code for the door. It silently slid open. "Sir. Do you have any idea why our armor is black?"

"Only that it has to do with the assignment." Chis answered.

They all took a seat around the table. Five datapads were lined up at one end of the table. "At least we stand out now."

Jester observed.

A moment later General Skywalker entered the room.

Succeed


	3. Classified

The five soldiers jumped from their seats and stood at attention. Anakin waited until the door had slid completely shut and then began the briefing "At ease men. Sergeant Chis, you and your men have been chosen for a highly classified reconnaissance mission on the planet Dakrai."

Gus caught Chopper flinching ever so slightly in his peripheral vision at the planet's name. He made a mental note to ask his deficient brother about it later.

"As one of you already knows" the Jedi's glance landed on Chopper , "Dakrai was lost near the beginning of the war to the Separatists in a disastrous battle on The Republic's part. Now, not only is it being used as a strategic launch point but we also have recovered information that indicates that droid factories, along with a weapons development facility are being set up on the planet. That's where you come in."

He passed out the datapads to everyone and handed the one that he had brought with him to the Sergeant.

"All of the specifics are on these, though I'll give you a quick rundown before I have to leave for Coruscant. The six of you will board a gunship and when the Resolute passes within the vicinity of the planet you will be transported to the surface of the planet and dropped off. Once there all communication will be cut off for three weeks until we reestablish contact with your squad and give you the coordinates for the pickup. While there you are to confirm the information and log as much of your own information that would help The Republic with its invasion so that we can avoid a repeat of last time."

Anakin stopped when the voice of his new padawan came over his comm. "Master, where are you? The transport to Coruscant will be leaving any minute."

"Don't worry Snips, I'll be there in a moment. Besides, I don't think they would leave me behind."

The General turned his attention back to the clones. "Remember, this mission is absolutely classified. Anything leaks out it could get back to the Separatists and compromise any future hopes of taking Dakrai. The Admiral will tell you himself when it's time, so be ready."

"Sir yes sir." The clones responded in unison and gave a crisp solute before General Skywalker hurried to the main hanger.

The squad was silent until they reached their accommodations, not wanting to mention anything that could compromise their mission before it began. Gus, Chopper, and Punch sat on their bunks and Jester and Sketch took seats on the foot lockers while Sergeant Chis stood in the middle of the group.

"Alright men, you heard the General. This is an important assignment. So all of you are to cooperate." Chis started pointedly at Chopper and Gus as he said this. "We know the basics but I want each of you to review the information on your individual datapads for the next hour, making note of everything and anything that you deem important. After that time we will discuss our findings. Don't forget to start packingg as you see what is needed."

"Yes sir." The squad of six answered and turned to the assignment. Gus considered bringing up Choppers' earlier discomfort about Dakrai but decided to wait on it.

After a few minutes Jester interrupted the silence. "So it says that Dakrai's years are split into half light and half dark. Then the new black armor means that we will be on the dark half."

"Hey I'm trying to concentrate here." Gus joked as he readjusted his pillow that was propping him up. "I thought that we were supposed to save all discussion for later."

"No, I was just wondering. Even if our armor blends in with our surroundings, I would think that they would have infrared vision."

"According to this our armor also has a type of infrared cloaking system in it that will hide any traces of body heat." Sketch said without looking up from the screen he was intently studying.

Silence settled once again and for a long while the only sounds were the soft noises of the clones shifting positions. When the hour was up every one circled up and got ready to share their findings.

First they covered the terrain, maps, and information they were to confirm. Next Sergeant Chis split the squad into two groups. Jester and Sketch were the most observant of the squad and were separated, so to spread out their talents. Gus and Chopper were split up as well. Everyone knew that this was for the best. Punch, the unofficial second-in-command of their squad, grouped with Jester and Chopper, and Chis with Gus and Sketch.

"Now, about the natives, it would be nice to know if they are hostile or friendly. Chopper can you add anything to the little information they gave us?" Chis said.

Chopper had said as little as possible since their return to the room. "Sir. I don't remember much about them or even much more than what the datapads say." He stared blankly at the floor between his boots and twisted his hands together. "I'm sorry sir." He looked on the verge of being sick.

The rest of the squad didn't know what to say. Obviously he remembered quite a lot, and those memories were not something he was going to share. Sergeant Chis seriously began to consider finding a way to get the scarred clone out of the mission but he knew it would be too late.

Admiral Yularen walked in the room. "Sorry to interrupt Sergeant but you and you and your squad are to be in the hanger in ten minutes. Your drop zone is approaching quickly."

"Sir, yes sir." He said.

Before their Sergeant gave the order the squad scrambled to get all the gear they would need.

Punch noticed that Chopper looked better now that the attention had shifted off of him. "Sketch, toss me my pack."

Sketch obliged with one hand while grabbing the sketch pad that had earned him his nickname off the desk. Jester took one last swipe of the cleaning rag across his gun before clipping it to his belt. Gus kicked his locker close and simultaneously strapped his pack on. Snagging his helmet, Chopper did one last mental check over to make sure he had everything.

Two minutes later the squad was ready and jogging to the hanger. There they boarded the ship that would take them to Dakrai.

Once the doors closed Chis turned to his squad "Men, this mission is both dangerous and important to the success of The Republic. Remember your training. Watch out for your brothers, and don't let your guard down."

Beneath them they could feel the ship begin to take off.


	4. Tension and Arrival

**Author's Note: **So, in short, I feel like a jerk for not updating this story in forever (or close enough). Sorry about that. *runs off to hide under a rock*

and **Disclaimer:** I obviously don't own Star Wars

* * *

After strapping themselves in for the flight to Dakrai, the clones remained silent, each of them trying to focus on ridding themselves of pre-mission nerves.

Chopper opened his pack and began recounting the thermal detonators he had packed. "Try not to jump into any ditches, Sketch. I might not be able to save you again." He said nonchalantly with an amused smirk that he hid as he ducked his head to reach further in his bag.

Punch chuckled. "And if you do, make sure it's not full of mud this time."

"Hey, you know I slipped." Sketch said, even though he knew it was pointless to try and defend himself. His mishap on one of their first missions together was something his two brothers refused to let him live down.

Punch cut in, "I know what I saw, and I saw you make a perfect dive into that mud hole."

"It was rather spectacular, wasn't it?" Chopper grinned at the memory of his brother falling face first into a muddy ditch and emerging with a generous head to toe layer of the muck. "Of course what made it even better was that he was trying to impress that group of girls walking by."

"I did not-" Sketch threw his hands in the air. "Fine, if I say that I did jump will you let it go?"

Punch looked at Chopper before answering. "What's it worth to ya?"

"If you drop it and we get out of this mission, uh… drinks are on me," Sketch said after a second of thought.

Jester asked as he leaned into the conversation. "Hang on. I haven't heard this one yet."

"And you're never going to hear it." Sketch countered before either of the clones could say anything.

Chopper ignored Sketch and looked over to their sergeant. "Permission to tell the story, sir?"

"Permission granted," Chis laughed. He was glad to see Chopper's mood lighten considerably since he had asked the clone about his first visit to Dakrai. Even so, he made a mental note to have Punch keep an eye on him when they split up.

Chopper and Punch were more than happy to tell the others about Sketch's ditch diving adventures. Sketch, in turn, was more than happy to bring up a few stories about the two, much to Chis and Jesters' amusement.

Gus sat apart from the others only half listening to his brothers trying to work off pre-mission jitters. The data pad in his hands displayed several files containing information for their mission. He chose one that he had downloaded earlier when they individually looked over the mission information. It was a larger, more disorganized set of files consisting of most of the previous intelligence that had been gathered on Dakrai. It wasn't that he didn't trust the well organized and stream lined information they had initially given him or that he was looking for anything specific, he just liked having the whole story.

Only glancing up when the rest of his squad broke out in roaring laughter at one of Jesters' stories, Gus continued to scrolling through the information for anything else that looked interesting. Coming across the medic records, he was about to close the files and join the others when a familiar name and serial number near the bottom of the screen caught his eye.

Out of curiosity Gus opened up the medical file and began to scan through it. "Hm. Let's see what they've got on you, Chopper," he muttered under his breath. Coming to the end of the short file, he found the scout report that was mentioned in the one he had just finished."...one clone was found not far from village that looked to be recently wiped out...well that's interesting."

"What's interesting?" Sketch said from his seat next to Gus as he craned his neck to see what was on the screen.

"Huh?" Startled, Gus jumped slightly. Closing the files before Sketch could get a good look at what was on the screen he slipped the data pad into his bag and settled back into seat. "Something about the mission. Nothing important," he said, and shrugged the matter off.

After Sketch turned back to talking with Jester, Gus looked over at Chopper who was sitting across from him and engaged in conversation with their sergeant.

As he talked with the sergeant Chopper eventually caught on that Gus was staring at him. He finished pointing out something on the map Chis had pulled up before turning on his brother.

"What?" Chopper asked, barely bothering to conceal his annoyance, as he leaned forward.

Gus leaned in as far as the seat restraints would let him and spoke in a low voice "Not that I really care; but, your last time on Dakrai…" Unsure if he should bring up what he had just discovered in the files with everyone else present, the clone let the end of his sentence drift off to see if his brother would fill in any details.

Choppers eyes narrowed dangerously as he hissed back in an angry whisper, "Drop it, Gus. Or so help me-" he cut himself off and sat back, glaring at the cockpit door.

Gus clenched his jaw and withdrew to his own seat, muttering darkly to himself about having to work with a brother who was 'deficient.'

"What did you say?" Chopper's head instantly snapped back around, the tension in the ship doubled.

Punch, Sketch, and Jester looked up from their conversation and exchanged looks. Jester ducked his head and pulled his cleaning rag out of his bag to polish is blaster again. Punch and Sketch pretended to ignore the growing tension by busying themselves with mission preparation.

Sergeant Chis inwardly sighed. He wasn't in the mood to deal with childish behavior. The safest thing to do would be to keep his head down and let it blow over like the others had learned to do. Unfortunately, he was their sergeant and had to address the issue for the sake the squad being able to function as a coherent unit.

"Gus. Chopper." The sergeant caught their attention just enough to cut off any further argument between the two. "Either work this out between the two of you or learn to get over yourselves. This recon mission is vital to the war and if either of you compromise it in any way I will have you court marshaled. Am I understood?"

"Yes, sir!" Gus and Chopper responded together, snapping to attention as best they could while still restrained to their seats.

"Entering the atmosphere, hang on." The pilot said from the cockpit.

The minute of turbulence brought their minds back to the mission at hand.

It wasn't long before the pilot spoke again. "Landing point coming up. Prepare for drop off."

"You heard him boys." Sergeant Chis said while undoing his restraints. Once free, he put on his helmet and slung his pack onto his back.

The squad followed suit as Chis continued, "Because we didn't have time to work out recon parameter back on the ship, "Chopper and I have located an outcropping of rocks that should provide us more shelter than just the open jungle to get ourselves together."

"Yes, sir."

Everyone stood at the ready as the ship maneuvered through Dakrai's upper atmosphere. Once they were closer to the planet's surface the door slid open to reveal nothing but darkness save for sporadic flashes of light that streaked by as they neared the drop off point.

"Switch to night vision." Chis commanded, even though it seemed like the obvious thing to do.

The squad confirmed their switch. It the place of a black abyss, they could now make out the outlines of the trees that formed Dakrai's extensive jungles rushing below them.

"Oh, and watch your backs down there." Chopper said, breaking the pensive silence. "There are things down on this planet that will jump you the second it knows you're not paying attention."

The squad nodded their thanks for the heads up.

Slowing the small ship down over a small clearing, the pilot called back to them, "See you boys in three weeks."

The ship barely had time to settle into a stationary hover over the long grass, before Sergeant Chis and his men disembarked. The pilot took a head count and gave a quick nod to their already retreating backs as he pulled the ship out of the jungle.

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**A.N. **I've already started working on the next chapter, so it won't be so long before you hear from me again. :)


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